Source: American Management Association

Employee theft is a billion-dollar problem. It's critical for your department to train supervisors to investigate and deal with suspected theft for at least two reasons:

1. Left unchecked, stealing can reach epidemic proportions. Employees may interpret management's inaction as tacit approval.
2. Ill-trained supervisors who unwittingly violate the legal rights of a suspected thief can cost your company more money than the theft itself.

In an article entitled "Sticky Fingers: Dealing with Employee Theft," from the December 1996 issue of Getting Results (AMA Periodicals), the following suggestions were offered.

Put Policy in the Spotlight
Familiarize managers with your firm's anti-theft policy through seminars, bulletins, and other appropriate media. In addition, critique the policy's language yourself from a trainer's point of view and recommend any changes that might improve its clarity, focus, and precision. A policy that merely states it's against company policy for workers to "take things" isn't enough. Obviously, no one's going to be fired for pocketing a screw or piece of wire. A policy should state what specific dollar value will trigger disciplinary action. Emphasize during training that supervisors must communicate the policy to their team members in order to make it legally binding. They should have all new hires read and sign the policy during orientation. Present employees should be required to read and sign a brand-new policy or revisions to the existing one.

Warning: The clearest policy in the world is useless if supervisors don't apply it consistently. Highlight the need for managers to treat everyone on their teams identically both to avoid hard feelings and to ensure that their actions will stand up in court. If a manager turned a blind eye when John took home a few tools because he was struggling with a redecorating project, he can't discipline Joan for doing likewise even if she was suspected of using the tools to run an appliance repair business on weekends.

Dealing with a Problem
Train supervisors who encounter a theft problem to take the following steps:

1. Stop and think. How valuable are the pilfered items? Are they worth disrupting the crew over? If so,
2. Express concern. Managers should notify team members of the problem and emphasize the consequences if an employee is caught stealing.
3. Act promptly. The longer managers wait to respond, the more time the thief has to cover his or her tracks--and the less help they'll get from witnesses.
4. Be careful. Teach supervisors the difference between an interrogation (which is accusatory) and an interview (which merely seeks information). Their conversations with employees should all be interviews--even if they think they've got the guilty party. To carry weight in court, employee statements during an interview must be completely voluntary. The best way to prove they were is to have employees sign a statement to that effect at the time of the interview.
5. Supervisors should not, under any circumstances, restrain employees they're interviewing--either physically or by ordering them not to leave. To do so exposes the company to a false imprisonment suit. It's an equally bad idea to summarily fire the suspect, which can lead to a wrongful termination suit.

Last But Not Least: Know the Legalities
Make sure supervisors understand the importance of contacting your company's legal department before they launch an investigation or take serious action. Laws governing employees' rights are complex and vary from state to state. For example, if your employees have the only keys to their desks, the desks could reasonably be expected to be a private area--hence you may not have the right to search them. The best action is to let your company's legal experts judge what investigation methods (such as a polygraph test) may be appropriate.

This article content is Copyright 1997, American Management Association. All rights reserved.

The American Management Association International is a leading membership-based management development and training organization.

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